GSA Capital Partners LLP Takes Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,006 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $385,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 174.4% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 97.9% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 41.5% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 308.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 335 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LECO has been the subject of a number of research reports. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.00.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $208.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $196.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $197.07. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.51 and a 52-week high of $261.13. The firm has a market cap of $11.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.88, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.14.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $983.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $988.07 million. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.93% and a return on equity of 40.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. This is an increase from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lincoln Electric news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.96, for a total value of $193,556.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,966,880.88. This trade represents a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells welding, cutting, and brazing products worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Americas Welding, International Welding, and The Harris Products Group. It offers brazing and soldering filler metals, arc welding equipment, plasma and oxyfuel cutting systems, wire feeding systems, fume control equipment, welding accessories, and specialty gas regulators, and education solutions, as well as a portfolio of automated solutions for joining, cutting, material handling, module assembly, and end of line testing, as well as involved in brazing and soldering alloys, and in the retail business in the United States.